All Thing of About Hijab

A. Definition of Hijab

Hijab" or "ḥijāb" Arabic: حجاب‎, pronounced [ħiˈdʒæːb] ~ [ħiˈɡæːb]) is aveil which covers the head which is particularly worn by Muslim women beyond the age of puberty in the presence of non-related adultmales. It can further refer to any head, face, or body covering worn by Muslim women or men that conforms to a certain standard of modesty. It not only refers to the physical body covering, but also embodies a metaphysical dimension, where al-hijab refers to "the veil which separates man or the world from God”. Hijab can also be used to refer to the seclusion of women from men in the public sphere. Most often, it is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy, and morality. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, modesty in the Qur'an concerns both men's and women's gaze, gait, garments, and genitalia." Although the Qur'an stresses modesty, it does not specifically require women to keep their heads or faces covered. In fact, the Qur'an never explicitly uses the term hijab in reference to body veiling in any context, instead utilizing the words khimār (خمار) and jilbāb (جلباب), not hijab. Hijab or Hejab refers to The Rules of covering up. It never references the specific item or items of clothing used to cover up.

B. Summary of Hijab

The term hijab in Arabic literally means “a screen or curtain” and is used in the Qur'an to refer to a partition. The Qur'an tells the male believers (Muslims) to talk to the wives of the Prophet Muhammad behind a hijab. This hijab was the responsibility of the men and not the wives of Prophet Muhammad. However, in later Muslim societies this instruction, specific to the wives of Prophet Muhammad, was generalized, leading to the commonly understood belief that hijab is a requirement in Islamic tradition. Most Islamic legal systems define this type of modest dressing as covering everything except the face and hands in public. Guidelines for covering of the entire body except for the hands, the feet and the face, are found in texts of fiqh and hadith that are developed after the Qur'an.Some interpretations, however, say that a veil is not compulsory in front of blind, asexual or gay men.Αlthough hijab is often seen as a tool utilized by men to control and silence women, the practice is understood differently in different contexts. Μen have also partaken in the practice of veiling. Fadwa El Guindi, a prominent Islamic scholar, writes, “Confining the study of the veil, just like the study of women, to the domain of gender in lieu of society and culture narrows the scope in a way that limits cultural understanding and theoretical conceptualization” .Post September 11, 2001, the hijab has generated much controversy and stereotyping. Many countries have attempted to restrict the wearing of the hijab in public spaces, causing outcry both within and outside of the Muslim community and compelling women to veil as a statement against repression.

C. In Islamic Tests

1. Qur'an

The Qur'an instructs both Muslim men and women to dress in a modest way:

"Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest" (surah 24:30)

The clearest verse on the requirement of the hijab is surah 24:30–31, asking women to draw their khimār over their bosoms.

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their khimār over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husband, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. (Quran 24:31)

In the following verse, the wives of the Prophet women are asked to draw their jilbab over them (when they go out), as a measure to distinguish themselves from others, so that they are not harassed. Surah 33:59 reads:

Those who harass believing men and believing women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a grievous sin. O Prophet! Enjoin your wives, your daughters, and the wives of true believers that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): That is most convenient, that they may be distinguished and not be harassed. [...] (Quran 33:58–59)

Note that these ayahs do not contain any prescription to cover women's hair.

2. Alternative views 

Some Muslims take a relativist approach to hijab. They believe that the commandment to maintain modesty must be interpreted with regard to the surrounding society. What is considered modest or daring in one society might not be considered so in another. It is important, they say, for believers to wear clothing that communicates modesty and reserve.

Other verses do mention separation of men and women.

Abide still in your homes and make not a dazzling display like that of the former times of ignorance[Quran 33:32–33]

And when ye ask of them [the wives of the Prophet] anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain.[Quran 33:53]

According to at least three authors (Karen Armstrong, Reza Aslan and Leila Ahmed), the stipulations of the hijab were originally meant only for Muhammad's wives, and were intended to maintain their inviolability. This was because Muhammad conducted all religious and civic affairs in the mosque adjacent to his home:

People were constantly coming in and out of this compound at all hours of the day. When delegations from other tribes come to speak with Prophet Muhammad, they would set up their tents for days at a time inside the open courtyard, just a few feet away from the apartments in which Prophet Muhammad's wives slept. And new emigrants who arrived in Yatrib would often stay within the mosque's walls until they could find suitable homes.

According to Ahmed:

By instituting seclusion Prophet Muhammad was creating a distance between his wives and this thronging community on their doorstep.

They argue that the term darabat al-hijab ("taking the veil"), was used synonymously and interchangeably with "becoming Prophet Muhammad's wife", and that during Muhammad's life, no other Muslim woman wore the hijab. Aslan suggests that Muslim women started to wear the hijab to emulate Prophet Muhammad's wives, who are revered as "Mothers of the Believers" in Islam,and states "there was no tradition of veiling until around 627 C.E." in the Muslim community

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab